2 Punjab Lok Congress candidates from Doaba return tickets

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, January 29

Days after the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) led by former CM Capt Amarinder Singh announced the ticket for hockey Olympian and Arjuna awardee Ajitpal Singh (74) from the Nakodar seat, the party on Saturday gave it to another candidate as he reportedly refused to contest citing personal reasons.

The PLC announced the ticket for former Punjab Police officer Shammi Kumar Kalyan. Shammi Kumar, who belongs to the Jyoti Nagar area in the city, had served as SP (Headquarters). He retired from the service two years ago. He said, “I had been in touch with the BJP leaders and Capt Amarinder Singh for quite some time. I am happy that they have chosen me to contest this time.”

Ajitpal Singh, who has lived in Delhi since he retired from the BSF, did not turn up in the constituency even for a day. He conveyed it to the party that he could not contest after which the decision to field Shammi Kumar was taken. The PLC selected a hockey stick as its symbol, the buzz was that Ajitpal refused to hold the Capt’s hockey.

Another PLC candidate Satvir Palli Jhikki, who was fielded as a candidate from Nawanshahr and appointed the party’s district chief, has refused to contest from the seat. Jhikki, who is reportedly also in the fray to get Nawanshahr ticket from the Congress, has been a Congress worker for the past few decades. He did not get along well with MLA Angad Saini.

Since there are reports that Saini could be denied ticket as his name did not figure even in the second list, Jhikki feels that he stands a good chance to be the Congress candidate — a desire that he has been nurturing for the past nearly 10 years.

The local BJP leaders, who wanted a ticket from the seat, had also refused to support Jhikki and had demanded that the seat should remain with the saffron party. PLC has an alliance with the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) for the Assembly poll.